Excavation at Bakr Awa 2010 and 2011

Miglus, Peter A.; Bürger, Ulrike; Fetner, Rafał; Altaweel, Mark; Sollee, Alexander Ericson

doi:10.1017/s0021088900000413

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Gurga Chiya and Tepe Marani are small, adjacent mounds in the southern part of the Shahrizor (Wengrow et al, 2016). They are situated on a Pleistocene terrace approximately 2 km southwest of the large Bronze-Iron Age site of Bakr Awa (Miglus et al, 2013; Figure 1b). As well as preserving the mounds for modern investigation, the mounds’ raised location would have protected them from possible flooding and high rainfall discharge in much earlier periods.…”

Section: Relevant Previous and Recent Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mid- to late-Holocene archaeology, environment and climate in the northeast Kurdistan region of Iraq

et al. 2018

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This work presents new data from phytolith and speleothem analyses that cover the middle to late Holocene from northeastern Iraq in the Kurdistan region. Coupling these data with previous work, we demonstrate how the region’s environment and climate developed during a time when agriculture became not only established but settlements started to transform into larger urban areas. Results demonstrate a wetter phase during the middle Holocene relative to the present period; a highly seasonal climate with one rainy season is also suggested between 8025 ± 38 and 6977 ± 219 BP. Phytoliths not only suggest a relatively wet environment but they also indicate a diversity of plants used for settlement activity. Sedimentary results complement the indication of a relatively wetter middle Holocene. Archaeologically, terraced construction found in Gurga Chiya and the presence of drought tolerant crops suggest adaptation to stronger, seasonal rains and seasonal droughts in the middle Holocene. Sedimentary, phytolith, and speleothem results suggest relatively drier late-Holocene conditions, although the region continued to be conducive for rainfed agriculture.

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Section: Relevant Previous and Recent Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mid- to late-Holocene archaeology, environment and climate in the northeast Kurdistan region of Iraq

et al. 2018

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“…International projects have been active for some years, including large-scale excavation on the high tell and "lower city" of Bakr Awa 2013), where the known range of archaeological strata extends from the Uruk period to Islamic times. The earlier prehistory of the Shahrizor was known from surface survey and limited exposures at a handful of sites (summarised in Altaweel et al 2012: 18; and see also Mühl 2013). In 1960 a large sounding at Tell Begum, north of Darband-i Khan, revealed floors and house foundations dated by associated pottery to the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic periods (Hijjara 1997: 127-29).…”

Section: Archaeological Research In the Shahrizor Plainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gurga Chiya and Tepe Marani: New Excavations in the Shahrizor Plain, Iraqi Kurdistan

Wengrow¹,

Robert²,

Brereton³

et al. 2016

Iraq

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Gurga Chiya and Tepe Marani are small, adjacent mounds located close to the town of Halabja in the southern part of the Shahrizor Plain, one of the most fertile regions of Iraqi Kurdistan. Survey and excavation at these previously unexplored sites is beginning to produce evidence for human settlement spanning the sixth to the fourth millennia, c. 5600–3300 cal. b.c. In Mesopotamian chronology this corresponds to the Late Neolithic through to Chalcolithic periods; the Halaf, Ubaid, and Uruk phases of conventional culture history. In Iraqi Kurdistan, documentation of these periods—which witnessed many important transformations in prehistoric village life—is currently very thin. Here we offer a preliminary report on the emerging results from the Shahrizor Plain, with a particular focus on the description of material culture (ceramic and lithic assemblages), in order to establish a benchmark for further research. We also provide a detailed report on botanical remains and accompanying radiocarbon dates, which allow us to place this new evidence in a wider comparative framework. A further, brief account is given of Late Bronze Age material culture from the upper layers at Gurga Chiya. We conclude with observations on the significance of the Shahrizor Plain for wider research into the later prehistory of the Middle East, and the importance of preserving and investigating its archaeological record.

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“…The Sharezor Plain has been the focus of several recent archaeological projects (e.g.,Altaweel et al 2012;Miglus et al 2013).THE LAND BEHIND THE LAND BEHIND BAGHDAD…”

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confidence: 99%

The Land Behind the Land Behind Baghdad: Archaeological Landscapes of the Upper Diyala (Sirwan) River Valley

Casana¹,

Glatz²

2017

Iraq

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While the Diyala (Kurdish Sirwan) River Valley is storied in Near Eastern archaeology as home to the Oriental Institute's excavations in the 1930s as well as to Robert McC. Adams’ pioneering archaeological survey, The Land Behind Baghdad, the upper reaches of the river valley remain almost unknown to modern scholarship. Yet this region, at the interface between irrigated lowland Mesopotamia and the Zagros highlands to the north and east, has long been hypothesized as central to the origins and development of complex societies. It was hotly contested by Bronze Age imperial powers, and offered one of the principle access routes connecting Mespotamia to the Iranian Plateau and beyond. This paper presents an interim report of the Sirwan Regional Project, a regional archaeological survey undertaken from 2013–2015 in a 4000 square kilometre area between the modern city of Darbandikhan and the plains south of Kalar. Encompassing a wide range of environments, from the rugged uplands of the Zagros front ranges to the rich irrigated basins of the Middle Diyala, the project has already discovered a wealth of previously unknown archaeological sites ranging in date from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic through the modern period. Following an overview of the physical geography of the Upper Diyala/Sirwan, this paper highlights key findings that are beginning to transform our understanding of this historically important but poorly known region.

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Excavation at Bakr Awa 2010 and 2011

Cited by 10 publications

References 20 publications

Mid- to late-Holocene archaeology, environment and climate in the northeast Kurdistan region of Iraq

Mid- to late-Holocene archaeology, environment and climate in the northeast Kurdistan region of Iraq

Gurga Chiya and Tepe Marani: New Excavations in the Shahrizor Plain, Iraqi Kurdistan

The Land Behind the Land Behind Baghdad: Archaeological Landscapes of the Upper Diyala (Sirwan) River Valley

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